Senators Relocationg… to Ottawa

Ottawa Senators Reach Deal with NCC for New Lebreton Flats Arena

For the first time since 2016, a new arena in downtown Ottawa is on the table. On June 23, the National Capital Commission (NCC) reached an agreement with Capital Sports Development Inc (CSDI), a group led by the Ottawa Senators, to sign a memorandum of understanding for their new project. After a disappointing season, the news was a beam of light for Senators fans showing the bright future that lies ahead for the team on and off the ice.

However, not all fans are convinced that the plan will go through, especially after a proposal for a new arena at the same location failed in 2016. The proposal from six years ago was submitted by the RendezVous Lebreton Group comprised of the Ottawa Senators and Trinity Development Group. The plan originally beat out competition from other residential development groups but failed when issues started to arise between the Senators’ owner Eugene Melnyk and Trinity Development leader, John Ruddy.

After being selected in 2016, the negotiations on the master development agreement lasted until November of 2018 when Melnyk and Ruddy’s partnership ended abruptly. According to sources, the source of the issue was that Melnyk was unwilling to pay for the new arena for his Senators. He even went as far as to publicly state that he would forgo any revenue from the arena as long as Ruddy would build the rink and allow the Senators to run it. The partnership ended when Melnyk filed a $700 million lawsuit against Ruddy and his Trinity Development while Ruddy countersued Melnyk for $1 billion shortly after. The NCC finally canceled the deal with RendezVous Lebreton Group in December of 2018 and the Lebreton Flats project was restarted. The trial between Melnyk and Ruddy was set to begin later this year in September before Melnyk suddenly passed away in March.

This time, the winning proposal, Capital Sports Development Inc., is compromised of the Ottawa Senators, Tipping Point Sports, Sterling Project Development, Populus, and Live Nation. The group has more partners involved with greater experience with building stadiums, with Sterling Project Group and Populus working on recent NHL arenas such as Climate Pledge Arena, T-Mobile Arena, and UBS Arena. Although the similarities between the two proposals are there, the NCC vows that time the process will be different.

The team will undoubtedly benefit from a change in scenery after missing the playoffs for the last 5 years. After playing in half-empty arenas for the last few years, players will rejoice in the opportunity to move closer to their fans. The new rink should also help General Manager Pierre Dorian with recruiting players with the prospect of playing near Parliament Hill being more attractive than Kanata. More spotlight on the team will also help Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, and other young Senator players to cement their status as NHL stars. Although a new arena won’t be ready for at least 4 or 5 years, this gives the team a chance to become competitive before the move to Lebreton Flats.

It’s yet to be seen how this Lebreton Flats arena proposal will fold out, but it’s safe to say that Senators fans and citizens of Ottawa are hoping for a better result than in 2018.

June 24, 2022 - Issue 44 of The Sport Marketeer